National fund-raiser will walk to Pontefract’s race meeting next Tuesday

Pontefract racecourse's managing director Norman Gundill said: "I am delighted we have been able to make arrangements for Richard to walk the course as part of his heroic challenge and wish him every success."

Published:08:46Thursday 02 July 2015

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Pontefract racecourse is next in line to host the nationwide charity fund-raiser ‘Walking The Courses.’

Richard Farquhar, a fund-raiser who is walking from racecourse to racecourse in aid of Pancreatic Cancer UK and Racing Welfare, will be at Pontefract’s meeting next Tuesday after walking all the way from Doncaster racecourse on the latest stage of his 58 leg journey.

Farquhar is walking around the country connecting all 60 racecourses in mainland Britain in a chain, in doing so covering around 3,000 miles on foot.

He hopes his marathon efforts will raise £1.4million to be split equally between his chosen charities.

To complete the Doncaster to Pontefract leg of his journey in style, Farquhar will be walking around the Pontefract course itself before the afternoon’s racing commences.

He is hoping to be accompanied by various familiar faces from the racing world and several supporters of the campaign.

Racegoers are also encouraged to partake in the lap of the track and should get in touch via www.walkingthecourses.com if they wish to do so.

Farquhar is now over a quarter of the way through his racecourse pilgrimage, having visited 19 of the 60 courses already and having covered just over 800 of the 3,000 miles between these courses.

By April 2016, upon arrival back at Newmarket having completed all of his racecourse-to-racecourse walks, Farquhar hopes to be nearing his ambitious target of £1.4million, to have involved people from all across the UK in his challenge and partnered with some of the biggest corporates within the racing industry.

Farquhar’s fundraising total now sits around £140,000, including pledges. He thus has a long way to go yet, figuratively as well as literally.

The exit bucket collection at Pontefract racecourse on Tuesday will be in aid of Walking The Courses and racegoers are encouraged to give generously.

Norman Gundill, managing director at Pontefract racecourse, said: “I am delighted we have been able to make arrangements for Richard to walk the course as part of his heroic challenge and wish him every success.”

To find out more about Walking The Courses, to donate and to get involved, visit www.walkingthecourses.com.